There was a Mr. Granger, Mr. Giordano, Mr. Hollis, and Mr. Chaffin. The last two men were the investors who had been interested in taking my percentage of the company off my hands. Just a few days ago, I had been more than ready to hand it over, but I had to ruin their day today.
"The way Mr. Hamm talked about you, we were led to believe we'd never see you again," Mr. Chaffin said.
"Unfortunately, you're about to see a lot more of me from now on." The atmosphere was a little wired, but they were restraining themselves.
"Welcome, Mr. Porter. You'll find that many things have happened during your absence," one of the men said. I'd get their names down eventually. I'd have to at this rate if I was staying.
"I'm aware. The arrangement with Mr. Hamm was never meant to be permanent. We have remained in contact throughout."
"Your reappearance no doubt signals a change of plans?"
"Not a change, simply what has been intended since the beginning," I said. Brett moved from where he had been standing and let me take over. He took a seat near the far end of the table, and Natalie took one next to him. Whatever they had been talking about before was soon forgotten. Moments after I sat, the questions began. I hadn't known what we would be walking into, just that I had taken my time up to now and could no longer afford to do that.
The short explanation was Porter Holdings would continue as an organization under my management, a decision that had been in place more or less since I had been born. The longer explanation was I knew my place now. I had been fighting back against something I had built up in my head. Running wasn't an option. It had never been an option. I had control over who I was and what I did, which was all anyone was allowed to ask. Porter Holdings was what my father had left behind besides me, and it was my job to take care of it.
The investors more than any of the stockholders were understandably upset about the deal falling through, but after talking to them about upcoming developments, their interest was piqued again. They agreed to keep in touch. It took maybe thirty or forty minutes from the time Nat and I arrived until the meeting's end. The men filtered out ‘til it was just Brett, Natalie, and I left.
"You know what?" Brett said finally. He hadn't said much through the meeting, mostly letting me carry it. "Your father would have been proud seeing that."
"I'd sure hope so. He's probably been turning in his grave this past month."
"I'm going to guess you had something to do with finally getting him back down off the mountain," he said, looking at Natalie. She blushed and looked at her hands on the table.
"You didn't ask for her help not thinking it would work, did you?"
"Might have worked too well," he laughed. Natalie laughed too, and I had to wonder how much he knew about what had happened between us.
"This was what you wanted, wasn't it?"
"It was what your father wanted. He wouldn't have wanted to leave the company to anyone but you." I nodded, getting it, finally. "Are you ready to get back to work?"
"Yeah," I said, looking over at Natalie, "heads up though. You're not off the hook yet, neither of you." Brett laughed and said he had figured as much. It had never been the plan to abandon me once my father died. He came over and hugged me, welcoming me back before walking off, leaving Natalie and me together.
"You did so well, Cameron," she said.
"Yeah? Can't believe how boring those fucking things are."
"Get used to it. No, not here," she said, pushing my hand away as I tried to touch her. "Not at work."
"Can't I do what I want? I thought I was the boss now."
"Then when will you find time for all your responsibilities?" she asked sweetly. After a while of not being here, I was about to become busy again but in a different way. I let it slide, and we walked over to my dad's old office and let ourselves in. To my new office, and you know what? It felt great.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Natalie
One Month Later
Cameron's parents’ house was incredible. I had slept over several times, but it still seemed every time I was here that there was more to see. He hadn't been kidding the times he had told me what a great childhood he’d had. I could only imagine it, Cameron, as a little boy, running around outside, losing himself in the multitude of rooms. Almost everything was still the same. The master had been largely cleared out so Cameron could use it, but he hadn't auctioned or given away the bulk of their old belongings.
A breeze coming in from outside had woken me. I stirred in bed, giving up on falling back to sleep. I sat up, feeling the bed for him. It was empty. I looked around, climbing out of the bed. The balcony’s French doors were open, but I didn't see him out there. He must have left them like that before leaving. I went over, shivering against the crisp wind to close it then slid a nightgown on to cover myself. I was still naked from the night before. We had wanted to go out on a date that night, but Cameron had gotten caught up in the office, so we settled for spending time together here.
He was busy. At first, I didn't think I realized just how busy his new job would keep him. Everything that had happened between us up to his moving back had moved at almost breakneck speed. It had almost been a weird fantasy, removed from both our real lives. When everything went back to normal, we had slowed all the way down too. It was nice. I liked not having to drive into the wilderness to see him. I liked being able to spend my weekends with him and sometimes hitching rides with each other to and from work. I liked everything. I loved the comfort of having someone; I hadn't realized that it was something I necessarily missed.
It helped that that someone was him, but still. I was happy, very happy, with how things had turned out. I walked down the stairs, looking for Cameron. That afternoon, he was busy. He had to drive out a couple hours to see some sites that the company was looking to develop. I had him ‘til he had to leave though, so I wasn't complaining. I walked into the kitchen, following the sounds. He was at the stove, in his underwear, making breakfast.
"I hope those eggs are cage-free," I said. He looked over his shoulders, smiling when he saw me.